Poem :: Unglazed Memories

Once upon a time, when you weren't shrouded in haze 
'Twas long before the forests were set ablaze 
Snippets of warm forgotten days
Shared with my beloved of my birth place 

Where children gathered after meals
Unconventional games on football field 
Nameless familiar faces seeked thrill
All differences in identities were peeled 

Where Monopoly dice rolled for weeks
Bankrupted were loaned money -interest free
On the bitumen, badminton chalk-lined courts drawn 
Faded flip flops challenged to stay on 

Where thicket exploration was a religious rite
Risk of monkeys, and snakes bites 
The local Jungle Boy was immune
His well trodden paths roughly hewn 

Where fighting spiders with heroic names 
Metallic colours were how they came 
Kept in lairs of matchboxes 
The champion announced on the soapboxes

Where six legs rode a lone bike so slow
Snaked on either side to swallow us whole
A pair of wide open drains 
Bike frame creaked with fear from strain 

Where kites conjured from coconut leaflets and mahjong paper
Freely danced and capered 
Flown upon dead end streets
Beside the rubbish and compost heap

Where chasey orchestrated with extra challenge
Our bodies were hung on balance 
Over the first floor balustrade
The victor washed in accolade 

Where gecko eggs were inspected
Wobbly shadows projected 
Under the stairs in candle light 
Possible of hatchlings excite 

Where Ting Ting man's bell 
Sounded for the sweets and snacks he sells 
The children excitedly run to the gate
Peered into his specially made crate 

Where ais potong dripped 
Onto the dry ground the sweetness seeped 
Corn, durian and red bean
Quickly devoured before being seen 

Yearned for these innocent years
When you were bright and clear 
I stare fondly upon thee afar 
Where you stayed as you are